Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Hope in the Darkest Night

August 20, 2014

One of the conundrums with which I've wrestled as I've focused on being thankful is that it seems so inconsequential when I consider all the horrific things happening around the world. ISIS is butchering with impunity Christians, Yazidis, and now journalists. The rioting in Ferguson, MO continues, with pleas for calm being ignored. People are suffering and dying from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, ALS, and a host of other ailments. Politicians keep passing laws, deepening our national debt, increasing bureaucratic red tape, unable to stanch the hemorrhaging of jobs, incapable of improving race relations or the welfare mentality of so many. It is a litany guaranteed to depress. Except for one thing: "there is nothing new under the sun."

The prophet Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of his nation, experienced being carried away into captivity. He knew what it meant to be a refugee, to have lost everything he cherished. He had watched his political leaders squabble among themselves while his nation teetered upon the disaster that finally overtook it. He had grieved over the populace's lawlessness and violence, railed against the abuses of power that kept some in grinding poverty while those at the top lived in a luxury most couldn't even imagine. The religious establishment was corrupt, justice was bought and sold, all while a ruthless and barbaric enemy gathered at the gates.

When the city finally fell to the siege, the slaughter was horrific. Those not killed were carried away into slavery while Jerusalem itself was burned to the ground, its walls torn down, and its beloved temple desecrated. Although he had seen it coming and repeatedly warned the powers that be to the point where he was considered a traitor, Jeremiah loved his people and his nation, and grieved deeply over its destruction. He wrote a lengthy song recording his sorrow. It is appropriately called "Lamentations," for that is exactly what it was. He writes at length of his grief, but in the middle of it, there bursts forth a glimmer of hope borne of his faith in a God who never wavers in his love and care for his people. He prays, asking God to "Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall."

He continues,
"My soul still remembers And sinks within me.
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD."

If I only read the news, I would be in despair, but I read also my Bible, from which I learn that what we are seeing all around us is not new. When it comes to sin, the Bible says God is not mocked; he dealt and will deal with it through his Son, Jesus Christ. He is also not surprised. What we see may worry us, but he knows the end as well as the beginning.

Years ago I read a poem that talked about what occupies our attention. In it, the author said that he didn't look behind him because there he had too much failure. He didn't look around him because the situation was too bleak. He didn't look to the future, because it too, seemed dim. He didn't look within, for there he found only unrest and turmoil. So he looked up, up into the face of Jesus Christ, where he found peace. Tonight, I am grateful to be able to look up. I have only my prayers to affect world events, but I also have Christ, and know that however bleak the situation may seem, hope springs new each morning, for "great is His faithfulness."

1 comment:

  1. I have often felt ashamed of being grateful for simple daily blessings while all around the world seems to be drowning in sorrow and misery. I usually remember that "all creation is groaning," and remember toward what; that makes all the difference. Thanks again for your very thoughtful blog.

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